Related papers: A note on the connectivity of 2-polymatroid minors

A clutter consists of a finite set and a collection of pairwise incomparable subsets. Clutters are natural generalisations of matroids, and they have similar operations of deletion and contraction. We introduce a notion of connectivity for…

In this paper we establish a variation of the Splitter Theorem. Let $M$ and $N$ be simple 3-connected matroids. We say that $x\in E(M)$ is vertically $N$-contractible if $si(M/x)$ is a 3-connected matroid with an $N$-minor. Whittle (for…

We consider the situation that M and N are 3-connected matroids such that |E(N)| > 3 and C* is a cocircuit of M with the property that M/y has an N-minor for some y in C*. We show that either there is an element x in C* such that si(M/x) or…

A matroid of rank $r$ on $n$ elements is a positroid if it has a representation by an $r$ by $n$ matrix over $\mathbb{R}$, each $r$ by $r$ submatrix of which has nonnegative determinant. Earlier characterizations of connected positroids and…

We give an excluded-minor characterization for the class of matroids M in which M\e or M/e is binary for all e in E(M). This class is closely related to the class of matroids in which every member is binary or can be obtained from a binary…

If $\mathcal{C}$ is a minor-closed class of matroids, the class $\mathcal{C}'$ of integer polymatroids whose natural matroids are in $\mathcal{C}$ is also minor closed, as is the class $\mathcal{C}'_k$ of $k$-polymatroids in $\mathcal{C}'$.…

The Splitter Theorem states that, if $N$ is a 3-connected proper minor of a 3-connected matroid $M$ such that, if $N$ is a wheel or whirl then $M$ has no larger wheel or whirl, respectively, then there is a sequence $M_0,..., M_n$ of…

Let AG(3,2)xU(1,1) denote the binary matroid obtained from the direct sum of AG(3,2) and a coloop by completing the 3-point lines between every element in AG(3,2) and the coloop. We prove that every internally 4-connected binary matroid…

An element $e$ of a $3$-connected matroid $M$ is elastic if ${\rm si}(M/e)$, the simplification of $M/e$, and ${\rm co}(M\backslash e)$, the cosimplification of $M\backslash e$, are both $3$-connected. It was recently shown that if…

Let $M$ be a $3$-connected matroid. A pair $\{e,f\}$ in $M$ is detachable if $M \backslash e \backslash f$ or $M / e / f$ is $3$-connected. Williams (2015) proved that if $M$ has at least 13 elements, then at least one of the following…

Given an $n$-connected binary matroid, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for its single-element coextensions to be $n$-connected.

The {\em breadth} of a tangle $\mathcal{T}$ in a matroid is the size of the largest spanning uniform submatroid of the tangle matroid of $\mathcal{T}$. A matroid $M$ is {\em weakly $4$-connected} if it is 3-connected and whenever $(X,Y)$ is…

If EE is a set of matroids, then ex(EE) denotes the set of matroids that have no minor isomorphic to a member of EE. If EE' is a subset of EE, we say that EE' is /superfluous/ if ex(EE - EE') - ex(EE) contains only finitely many 3-connected…

The classes of even-cycle matroids, even-cycle matroids with a blocking pair, and even-cut matroids each have hundreds of excluded minors. We show that the number of excluded minors for these classes can be drastically reduced if we…

In this note we investigate some matroid minor structure results. In particular, we present sufficient conditions, in terms of {\em triangles}, for a matroid to have either $U_{2,4}$ or $F_7$ or $M(K_5)$ as a minor.

A {\em connectivity function} on a set $E$ is a function $\lambda:2^E\rightarrow \mathbb R$ such that $\lambda(\emptyset)=0$, that $\lambda(X)=\lambda(E-X)$ for all $X\subseteq E$, and that $\lambda(X\cap Y)+\lambda(X\cup Y)\leq…

Consider a random $n\times m$ matrix $A$ over the finite field of order $q$ where every column has precisely $k$ nonzero elements, and let $M[A]$ be the matroid represented by $A$. In the case that q=2, Cooper, Frieze and Pegden (RS\&A…

Let $M$ be an excluded minor for the class of $\mathbb{P}$-representable matroids for some partial field $\mathbb P$, and let $N$ be a $3$-connected strong $\mathbb{P}$-stabilizer that is non-binary. We prove that either $M$ is bounded…

Let $M$ be a matroid defined on a finite set $E$ and $L\subset E$. $L$ is locked in $M$ if $M|L$ and $M^*|(E\backslash L)$ are 2-connected, and $min\{r(L), r^*(E\backslash L)\} \geq 2$. Locked subsets characterize nontrivial facets of the…

In earlier work, we characterized the class of matroids with no $M(C_4)$ as an induced minor and the class of matroids with no member of $\{M(C_4),M(K_4)\}$ as an induced minor. In this paper, for every two matroids in…